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Licking Memorial Health Systems’ pending purchase of the for-profit, doctor-owned Medical Center of Newark will cost 160 people their jobs, according to a notice received late last week by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

It wasn’t clear yesterday how many job offers Licking Memorial has made to the affected workers. A Licking Memorial spokeswoman reached at home declined to comment.

As part of the pending sale, the Medical Center of Newark will close its facilities at 1918, 1990 and 2000 Tamarack Rd. as of Dec. 31, according to the notice from David Sheppard, the hospital’s chief financial officer.Licking Memorial President and CEO Rob Montagnese told The Dispatch this month that the former Medical Center of Newark campus probably would be used as an outpatient center.

The sale is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Medical Center of Newark officials didn’t return calls yesterday.

Employees will be terminated between Jan. 29 and Feb. 7, but it’s possible that no employees will report to work after the shutdown on Monday, according to the notice.

Licking Memorial filled 213 beds last year, dwarfing the Medical Center of Newark’s 20. Sheppard told The Dispatch this month that the hospital lacked the purchasing power and clout with insurance companies that larger hospitals have. He also said the sale was prompted by a changing regulatory landscape for hospitals that limits the ability of physician-owned hospitals to expand.